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Cast Member Interview

Interview with a Walt Disney Travel Company agent who works in Disney's Reservation Center.
August '03.

How long have you worked for WDTC?
1 year and about 4 months
Did you have a lot of special training?
Well at first you go through about 7 weeks of training then recently I had about 2 weeks of training to be WDTC. And each week we have updates and recurrent on anything new or refreshers on policies or "products".
What's the best thing about your job?
I adore being able to do something extra special for guest that is out of the ordinary. Like partnering with other areas to surprise a guest with something special for a special occasion. Or helping a guest with a not normal circumstance. I was making a reservation for a guest and as we were talking I discovered her son has a very serious allergy to nuts. Because of that he is unable to even have a Happy Meal from McDonalds...because the person making it could have touched the nuts used for the McFlurry's or sundaes. My manager and I contacted the McDonald's on property and arranged for the family to receive Happy Meals specially made for the child.
How many people work for WDTC?
Thousands. Including guest services, managers, their managers, multicultural teams....and cast members like me...my best bet would be around 2500.
What is the most frequently booked resort?
Very hard to decide. Maybe All-Stars because they have the largest number of rooms. But really it is hard to say.
How many calls per day do they get?
Thousands. On an average day I can take about 30-40 calls in a 8 hour shift.
Do you get any strange requests?
That they want to sleep in the castle. I have had a guest swear to me they slept in the castle a few years ago. I did not say it but I was thinking the only way that was happening was if they took a nap on one of the benches or something. Unless it was through some special organizations (Make-A-Wish, or won a contest that I am not aware of).
What would be a typical day's work for you?
I am attached to a phone taking incoming calls for 8 hours. I take calls from consumers and travel agents. We take calls for dining, tickets, Cirque, general questions on anything Disney, resort stays. We take lunches and breaks. And go home. Whats really fun is when the characters come in and walk around the floor. One day Genie came and put his large blue head on my shoulder while I was on a call and scared me....the guest thought it was a riot because I must have made a funny noise so I had to explain what was going on. Disney is really good to us. The managers come around and hand us free snacks and drinks or throw pixie dust (Mickey shaped confetti) on us just because.
Can you explain the difference between CRO and WDTC?
The most complicated and most asked question. The first misconception is that they are two separate places. We are all in the same building a lot of us are both, some are one and not the other. Good news is that in about 1-2 months we will all be what we all cross-trained.
CRS books Florida resident discounts, passholder discounts, AAA room only & room only 1-2 nights. In the coming months these will pretty much be the only reservations booked in here. In the past CRS could book more then 1-2 nights and even add our annual packages like Dream Maker, some agents right now still can. But with our new computer system that is no longer available. We also used to be able to book certain direct mail or general discounts. But as you may have seen in recent months most of those are WDTC. Up until about a month ago I was just a CRS only agent. Now that I am trained in the new computer system I am considered a cross-trained agent (both CRS and WDTC)
WDTC - In this system we book all annual packages, more than 3 night stays, air fare, transfers (Mears, limo, town car), rental cars, travel protection, AAA packages (only AAA travel agents can call and book for their clients), Disney Club discounts (which will no longer be after 2004), add-ons (like beach stays, Richard Petty, Cirque, golf experiences). Now all of the direct mail discounts and other general discounts that marketing advertises will be done through WDTC so that guest can include these components, so they can do one-stop shopping, have one policy and one place to call to modify, cancel...etc.
What are the booking/deposit/cancellation procedures for packages booked through WDTC?
If calling outside of 45 days prior to arrival we can hold reservation for 14 days then a $200 deposit is due, (if air...deposit date and amount may be different depending on Published air or Negotiated air). The balance of the reservation is due 45 days prior to arrival so we can print and send out the travel documents. If calling within 45 days of arrival then the total package amount is due at time of booking. Guest can make any changes or cancel the reservation or most components without any penalties if they are outside 45 days. Within 45 days there is a $50 fee and any difference in resort price or air price. Canceling a reservation 44-6 days before arrival there is a $100 cancellation fee and any supplier fees. If within 5 days it is $200 and any supplier fees.
Anyone who has done a WDTC reservation will receive a detailed policy on the back of the confirmation letter we also spell the policy when making the reservations and any questions we will try to answer or get answered from our guest services. Air on the reservation has a bit of a different policy, the land portion stays but depending on type of air, such as published air, is nonrefundable. Negotiation has basically the same policy as the land portion except the price of the air can change if you are modifying the air dates or airports.
How would you advise people to get the best deal?
Do your research. Look at the overall picture. The value of what you are getting. Sure the value resort are the least expensive, but are 4 grown adults going to be comfortable in a 260 sq. foot room with 2 double beds? What is most important to you and your family that meets your needs. When it comes to a package that includes meals...add up what places you want to eat and compare to the price of the package. A lot of the time you can save money! Some situations the package does not work for the family. Also add in the extras and the convenience. Find out the details. A lot of guest do not include the fact that the packages include tax and gratuities for meals. And how much different activities can cost if done separately. Watch newspapers and look at our website. We do not work on commission!!! We want you to be happy and not upset when you have to tell your child that they cannot go to the water parks because you did not get the package with the Ultimate Park Hopper and you now have to have the child choose between the water park or a character meal because you did not budget both. I have had times when I "down sold" a guest because it was more then they needed. But they went away happy, saved money, and will more than likely come back next year because I treated them right and was helping them create a vacation that fits their needs. I have "up sold" a guest who was booking 15 dining reservations and was not on a package. We sat and did the math together and found she could save not only money but also have the convenience by adding the Silver plan on.
Do WDTC have discounts and specials available like CRO used to have (manager's specials, upsells, etc)?
Never seen a manager's special in either CRS or WDTC. Upsell have always been in both systems and is just based on when it pops because a resort decided to offer because they are not as filled as they would like. I have seen resorts upgrade guests but that is done at the resort by the managers usually the day of arrival. I am not aware of how they decided who gets upgraded. Calling the resort directly will actually get you right back to us. Unless you specify you need to talk to the front desk. The resort will not even have access to your reservation before 5 days prior to arrival (when it is downloaded to the resort) and again they make decisions on upgrades and room assignments pretty much same day.
Do you have any advice for people ringing up to book a package?
Have all legal names (very important with air) together. Be ready to talk to the agent. Be in a quiet, relaxed place. Have paper, pen, credit card, AAA card, DC card...etc handy. You will not believe the amount of people who call from the car on cellphone and then get upset because we have a hard time hearing them or the call drops off. Also TV and children yelling in the background. Can make it distracting for the guest and we have to repeat or ask them to repeat over and over again. Disney is unique, we want to make sure you know what you are paying for and that it meets your needs and wants. We have 22 WDW owned resorts, the Dolphin and Swan, 8 Downtown Disney resorts, and about 50 Good Neighbor resorts, then several options for tickets, packages. Then we want to assist you with dining, planning activities, let you know about the special events on property like the Christmas party so you do not get her and find it is sold out and you could have a would have bought the tickets months ago had you know about it. Now your child is upset because she can't go to Mickey's Christmas Party. It usually takes more than 3 minutes to book your vacation. Have patience and have time. Guest are spending their hard earned money they want to make sure they know what they are buying and the value of it.
Is everything going to have to be booked through WDTC (is CRO closing)?
CRO is not closing...as mentioned earlier something's are now changing to being only WDTC instead of both, but certain types of reservations can only be booked in CRO. It's like that right now and more then likely for another couple of years.
Will WDTC have an 800 number?
They did a few years ago but the line was so tied up by children calling to talk to Mickey or leaving the phone off the hook. That they did away with it.
Is everything going to have to be booked as a package?
Not everything. But yes most things would be considered a package.
What are the chances that the FairyTale Package will come back again next year?
Not heard anything about that. But we did go way over our goal. But the Fairytale package was the first of its kind was very well liked. And its main business purpose was to help fill the resorts and parks because of the decline in tourism because of the world events the past couple of years. With all of our discounts we agents only know about them almost about the same time as they are published. With fairytale we were told about it in an update because it was a completely new type of discount and how it was booked. Sometimes a few days before we will see in our info system the skeleton of a discount that is pending....we cannot mention it because it can be pulled I have seen that happen because of a number of factors they hold off on it, or it is a system challenge downloading the computer codes so it prices and books correctly, to marketing ads being delayed, could be anything. But it is actually rare for us to see something before it become active.
What's happening with room requests (nonsmoking, first floor, certain location, etc)? I've read that you have to list them in order of preference, and may only get the most important one. Is it still worth faxing the room controller at the resort a few days before you arrive?
It is the same as us listing them. Of course we preference them because I have had guest that requested almost every possible room request there is and depending on the rooms available for the dates you are traveling will depend on what request can be filled. Almost about 90% of our rooms on property are nonsmoking...some resorts even more. The resort tries to match as many requests you have with what rooms they have available. It is a hard job and I would not want it. But if you think about it makes sense.
Are they going to change the dining PS to 180 days for folks who have packages or will they leave it at 90 days for everyone?
With Disney EVERYTHING is subject to change. I have not heard any more news in changes to 180 days since the week they were, then they were not...then they changed it to 90 days. I think because when they had the update and presented us with the 180 policy and all that stuff that went with it.....I for one asked many questions about that policy that we knew were going to be asked when it was implemented and a lot more....so I think they looked at it again and held back until maybe they could figure another solution or way to do what ever they thought they were going to accomplish with that policy.
Right now, a Disney Club member has doesn't have to pay the balance of a package until 21 days prior (for regular people it is 45 days). Will the new Disney Visa CC give folks the same privileges after Dec31st when the Disney Club goes away?
I have no idea. When DC finally goes away. And as we get Disney Visa CC offers it will advise us of the policy. That was a question that was bought up by a fellow cast member in an agent update and the leaders did not have any info on that at this time.

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